Combating the COVID-19 Infodemic

Introduction

More than two months have passed since the WHO formally declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) a pandemic (1). At the time of writing, more than 4 million people have been infected with the virus globally, and the number of deaths is still on the rise (2). To reduce the spread of COVID-19, many countries have opted to shut down borders and enforce temporary travel bans and/or lockdowns. More than one-third of the world’s population faces some kind of quarantine or lockdown measure, which is proving to be one of the biggest challenges so far, both the enforcement itself, and the implications on society (3).

Information about the pandemic has been widely available and shared on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. This provides an opportunity for governments, authorities, and healthcare leaders to embrace the advantages that social media provides, not only as a way to better engage with society but to also coordinate interdisciplinary action and international collaboration. On the other hand, with social media serving as an important mediator of information to the people, the spreading of false and misleading information is a very real risk.

As many people are spending more time on social media to get the latest news and information to protect themselves, misinformation and disinformation have had huge impacts on communication and adherence to guidelines. Aside from prevention and case management, the fight against the virus now includes tackling the “Infodemic” - Fake News and Cyber Propaganda”, which can influence people’s behaviour (4) and make them less likely to comply with official recommendations (5). It has been suggested that the consequences of misinformation have led to incidences of alcohol consumption (6), abuse of anti-malaria drugs (7), panic buying (8), and violence against people living with COVID-19 (9).

This article aims to share the importance of innovative communication strategies in the exchange of knowledge across multiple disciplines, the roles of young professionals, and the promotion of international collaboration towards solving the global problems of COVID-19.

Early Days

Despite the advantages offered by the current Information Age, these advantages may be used to facilitate infodemics, stigma, and bias spreading to many countries at an alarming rate (10,11). The lack of good and reliable information can result in people making poor and unhealthy decisions while trying to protect themselves, actually causing harm to themselves and others. For example, people who believe that unproven remedies can help against the disease may also be less likely to follow advice from health officials and at best opt for less effective treatments (12).

Misinformation started spreading already in the early days of the pandemic. Perhaps one of the first cases of misinformation reported was the Chinese Public Security Bureau accusing Dr. Li Wenliang, one of the first who raised the alarm about the seriousness of the situation, of spreading rumours and causing social disorder (13). Even though China would eventually declare the situation a pandemic by January 2020, this delay of response by local authorities hindered early containment strategies and will possibly dissuade doctors from issuing early warnings in future pandemics. This initial downplaying from governments about the seriousness of the disease would, unfortunately, be seen in many other countries as the disease spread, causing unnecessary deaths, morbidity, and oversaturated health-systems that could have been minimized by an early implementation containment strategy.

In February 2020, the WHO warned that the COVID-19 pandemic would be followed by an infodemic, characterized by an overflow of both accurate and inaccurate information that would make it difficult for people to find reliable information that they can base well-informed decisions regarding their health on (14). The spread of both accurate and inaccurate information is exacerbated by social media, as it provides direct access to a massive amount of content from both reliable and unreliable sources. This has contributed to an array of responses, from general denial or not taking the situation seriously, to mass hysteria, panic buying in stores, and stockpiling of drugs. Apart from the spreading of false and misleading information in social media, incorrect information can also come from traditional mass media.

“Often, they pick the most extreme pictures they can find… There is overkill on the use of [personal protective equipment] and that tends to be the photos that are published everywhere… that is, in fact, sending the wrong message.”

— David Nabarro, Head of Public Health Emergencies at UNICEF

Down the Road

Various strategies have been implemented around the globe to combat misinformation and fake news. The WHO has constantly communicated up-to-date information concerning COVID-19 through their website and social media channels. In addition, they have provided training through Massive Open Online Courses for health professionals, decision-makers and the public that are available in different languages (20). Efforts have also been made by social media companies to censor or remove accounts that spread false information from their services (21). For example, Twitter has started labeling warnings on tweets that contain misleading or false information (22). Through partnerships between leading social media channels and public health organisations, reliable information is made available to internet users via pop-ups, news updates and optimised search results.

Countries around the world have used similar strategies to the WHO, tailored to their context and needs. Mexico, like the US, holds daily press briefings on COVID-19, which are broadcasted on live national television as well as social media channels such as YouTube and Facebook (23). These countries have also created a microsite that provides courses, information, and guidelines about COVID-19 for health professionals and the public. Myanmar's democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, opened a Facebook account where she frequently live-broadcasts to help minimize the spread of this virus (24).

Some countries were less prepared when it came to combating misinformation and fake news. Sharing of misinformation fueled the overall mass hysteria and created many conspiracy theories. A widely spread conspiracy theory that originated in social media was that the coronavirus was a biological weapon launched against China (25) and another that it was created by the Chinese to wage war on the US (26).

Public officials tend to be cautious about releasing premature information and consistently phrase statements to ensure accuracy and prevent misinterpretation. Curiously, this has also contributed to creating empty spaces and gaps with information which rumours, conspiracy theories and false statements in social media tend to fill.

Today

The pandemic has forced the entire population to utilize communication strategies and technologies at maximum capacity during this unprecedented crisis. This includes strategies such as contact tracing, patient care through alternate care options and data management.

Social media provides the means for important communication strategies for spreading accurate and life-saving information. As more people need to work remotely, social media and video meeting apps have become vital for maintaining communication and keeping the economy afloat. Connectedness through social media and video calls has therefore been very important both for staying connected with loved ones and for many organisations to be able to keep working.

False and misleading information has affected the decision and efforts of health authorities in every stage of the pandemic. False information is tweeted more often than science-based evidence, although there is an observed reduction in retweets (27). It is clear that our systems are inadequate to fight future infodemics. Aside from following social distancing norms to prevent infection, we as a society must also implement strategies that protect people from misinformation and make it a part of the efforts to combat future pandemics.

A Call to Action: Our role in combating the COVID-19 Infodemic

There are many actions that we as young professionals can make within our own community that help mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic and the infodemic that accompanies it. Here is what you can do in response to COVID-19:

Get informed!

Read, learn and absorb what reliable sources such as the WHO or your local public health agency is saying about the pandemic.

Be a role model!

Learn the social distancing recommendations and follow them so that you may inspire the people around you to do the same. Share with friends, family members and within your own community through social media.

Spread information in your language!

Support national and global dissemination of clear, reliable and scientific information and guidelines on the COVID-19 pandemic by translating them into different languages and help spread them via different platforms such as the CGHI webpage.

 

Organize an event!

Organise a webinar, an Instagram live or similar to mobilize communities for support during lockdown measures.

Start a podcast!

Make your voice heard and share personal and professional experiences during the time of crisis and provide a space to brainstorm ideas for solutions.

Volunteer!

A lot of NGO’s are facing a heavy load during this crisis, for example phone lines against loneliness or support lines, give your time doing whatever you can contribute with!

 

This article was written by Toyyib Abdulkareem, Israel Herrera Ramirez and Ei Ei
Aung. 

Toyyib is the Coordinator of the Editorial Team, CGHI, and writes on the intersections of sustainable development and young people.

Israel is the Editorial Officer for CGHI, pharmacist and public health professional. Enjoys working on public health topics through a health systems perspective.

Ei Ei is the Quality Assurance Officer at CGHI and enjoys working on implementation research on health and development issues.

References

  1. WHO. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 -11 March 2020 [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 May 14]. Available from:
    https://bit.ly/2YwMY19

  2. Worldometer. COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic Update (Live) [Internet]. [cited 2020 Jun 13]. Available from: https://bit.ly/37tfWmO

  3. Buchholz K. What Share of the World Population Is Already on COVID-19 Lockdown? [Internet]. Statista. [cited 2020 Jun 13]. Available from: https://bit.ly/3dUTKV0

  4. Cinelli M, Quattrociocchi W, Galeazzi A, Valensise CM, Brugnoli E, Schmidt AL, et al. The COVID-19 Social Media Infodemic. arXiv preprint arXiv:200305004 [Internet]. 2020 Mar 10 [cited 2020 May 8]; Available from: http://arxiv.org/abs/2003.05004

  5. Igoe KJ. Developing Public Health Communication Strategies—And Combating Misinformation— During COVID-19 [Internet]. Available from: https://bit.ly/3dZer21

  6. Coronavirus: Effects of increased alcohol use in lockdown could last a generation, experts warn [Internet]. Sky News. [cited 2020 Jun 13]. Available from: https://bit.ly/3fklp1P

  7. Kavanagh C. US reports increase in Hydroxychloroquine misuse [Internet]. Pharmafile. [cited 2020 Jun 13]. Available from: https://bit.ly/2MX5uuo

  8. Besson EK. COVID-19 (coronavirus): Panic buying and its impact on global health supply chains [Internet]. [cited 2020 Jun 13]. Available from: https://bit.ly/3hlZSId

  9. Hasan MT, Hossain S, Saran TR, Ahmed HU. Addressing the COVID-19 related stigma and discrimination: a fight against “infodemic” in Bangladesh. :26.

  10. Jakovljevic M, Bjedov S, Jaksic N, Jakovljevic I. COVID-19 Pandemia and Public and Global Mental Health from the Perspective of Global Health Security. Psychiat Danub. 2020 Apr 15;32(1):6–14.

  11. Vosoughi S, Roy D, Aral S. The spread of true and false news online. Science. 2018 Mar 9;359(6380):1146–51.

  12. Bavel JJV, Baicker K, Boggio PS, Capraro V, Cichocka A, Cikara M, et al. Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nat Hum Behav [Internet]. 2020 Apr 30 [cited 2020 May 8]; Available from: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0884-z

  13. Hegarty S. The Chinese doctor who tried to warn about coronavirus. BBC News [Internet]. 2020 Feb 6 [cited 2020 May 29]; Available from: https://bbc.in/2UH0LBa

  14. WHO. Munich Security Conference [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 Jun 13]. Available from: https://bit.ly/2MYO1By

  15. Zarocostas J. How to fight an infodemic. The Lancet. 2020 Feb;395(10225):676.

  16. Palmer K. The Benefit of Social Media Marketing During the Coronavirus Pandemic [Internet]. Amplified Digital Agency. 2020 [cited 2020 May 30]. Available from: https://bit.ly/2XXduli

  17. Kushner J. The role of social media during a pandemic [Internet]. Khoros: Digital care, communities, & social media software. 2020 [cited 2020 May 30]. Available from: https://bit.ly/3htdPDZ

  18. Wiederhold BK. Using Social Media to Our Advantage: Alleviating Anxiety During a Pandemic. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 2020 Apr 1;23(4):197–8.

  19. Pulido CM, Ruiz-Eugenio L, Redondo-Sama G, Villarejo-Carballido B. A New Application of Social Impact in Social Media for Overcoming Fake News in Health. IJERPH. 2020 Apr 3;17(7):2430.

  20. WHO. Responding to COVID-19: Real time training for the coronavirus disease outbreak [Internet]. World Health Organization. [cited 2020 May 30]. Available from: https://bit.ly/2XZW4EU

  21. Garrett L. COVID-19: the medium is the message. The Lancet. 2020
    Mar;395(10228):942–3. 22. Gadde V, Derella M. An update on our continuity strategy during COVID-19 [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 May 30]. Available from: https://bit.ly/2XWKFWf

  22. Roth Y, Pickles N. Updating our approach to misleading information. [Internet] [cited 2020 Jun 10]. Available from: https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2020/updating-our-approach-to-misleading-information

  23. SSA. Conferencias de prensa. Informe diario sobre coronavirus COVID-19 SSA – Presidente de México [Internet]. [cited 2020 May 31]. Available from: https://bit.ly/30D0GCi

  24. BBC News. Aung San Suu Kyi opens Facebook account [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 Jun 13]. Available from: https://bbc.in/3cXVJGP

  25. Wajahat Hussain. Role of Social Media in COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Front Sci [Internet]. 2020 Apr 19 [cited 2020 May 8];4(2). Available from: https://publie.frontierscienceassociates.com/index.php/tijfs/article/view/144

  26. BBC Monitoring, UGC Newsgathering. China coronavirus: Misinformation spreads online about origin and scale [Internet]. BBC News. 2020 [cited 2020 Jun 13]. Available from: https://bbc.in/3hwWUAL

  27. Pulido CM, Villarejo-Carballido B, Redondo-Sama G, Gómez A. COVID-19 infodemic: More retweets for science-based information on coronavirus than for false information. International Sociology. 2020 Apr 15;026858092091475.

Previous

The Burden of Migrant Workers
Next

This is CGHI